Blind
by lostatseanomore
Summary: "I may be blind, but I see more than anyone thinks I do. Much more." Toph narrates her observations of the love life of two of her friends-or lack there of as it may be. Zutara


**Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever**

* * *

I may be blind, but I see more than anyone thinks I do. Much more.

No, I cannot see what the color green looks like; or the blue of the ocean; or the black of my hair. "Color" means nothing to me except what people have told me, and even then it doesn't make much sense; it's just a word.

I do not know what I look like. Sure, I can feel and memorize my features, but I cannot judge whether I am "pretty" or not by the standards the world holds...not that it matters. Neither can I see the faces of others: my parents, my friends.

My mother must be pretty, I think. Katara, too.

I believe this because of the way my father's heart would beat when he thought the two of them were alone, and because of the way more than one boy's heart has reacted when in Katara's presence.

But then that would make Suki pretty, too, because I always think Snoozle's heart will beat right out of his chest when she's near him.

Girls are different from boys, though. They don't react the same way. Sure, their heart rates increase around certain people, but they usually try to control it more, whether it's because they desire to hide their feelings or just won't acknowledge them, I don't know.

This makes it harder to tell if boys are handsome. When a girl's heart races, it usually means she's succumbed to the "L" word, making her just as blind as I am in certain regards.

Sweetness is especially difficult to read. She's emotional, period. And if her heart is any indicator-which it is-she is in love. The only problem is: she's not with the man her heart beats for.

Sure, her heart beats for Aang...in the same way my mother's heart beats for me. I've labeled this emotion "concern," of the motherly affiliation. That's all there is though...on her end, anyway. She'll hover and fawn over him, and I think he thinks it's the attention of a lover...but it's not. It's just the attention of a girl concerned for his wellbeing. Truth be told, her heart beats that way for all the people in our group.

Save one.

Her heart does beat wildly for one. Her heart beats for Zuko. It races and pounds so loud, I want to shove rocks into my ears and beg her to do something about it. Thing is, she doesn't act any different towards him on the outside. She's still a little snooty and self-righteousness, but I think I am one of the only ones who has noticed the slight change in her demeanor towards him. The end of the war started it all-oh, and that whole "he jumped in front of lightening for her and saved her life" thing helped too, I think, eh? Maybe just a little...

They are friends now. _Good_ friends, but unfortunately nothing more. It just...hasn't happened. I think...well, this is my theory: they believe too much is contingent on things staying the way they are (Katara with the Avatar; Zuko _not_ with a Water Tribe girl), so neither one of them pursues the change they both desperately want. They are sacrificing their own happiness for the sake of the world's, in their opinion.

But haven't they sacrificed enough?

The war has been over for a year and a half now, and neither Sweetness nor Fire Lord Sparky have acted on their feelings for one another. Yet they continue to let their hearts pound like war drums in my ears, and she continues to let Aang follow her around like a baby saber-tooth moose-lion...but it's not as if he's around her all the time! He always seems to be off doing Avatar stuff, leaving Katara alone. What does he expect? That she won't get swept off her feet by Lord Charming?

Not that he's doing much, either. Oh, he's in love with Katara, I can tell. (Don't ask me what happened to that depressed knife-wielding girl; I have no idea.) But he's so oblivious, it's sad. I guess they both are, though.

I'll hear her in her room sometimes when she thinks no one is around. I've never caught her crying, but she'll sigh really loud and all sad-like. It's a little...unsettling, even for someone like me.

It's just...in this equation, no one seems happy.

Well, Aang's happy, but he wouldn't be if her knew how miserable Katara truly was.

I mean, I see the answer, and I'm blind. Why can't they?


End file.
